Chapter 4

The sneering contempt vanished from his face in an instant, replaced by a weak, long-suffering tone:

"Honey, I'm getting prepped for surgery right now…"

"Once they put me under tomorrow, I won't be able to take calls."

"Focus on your trip, don't worry about me at all. It's just a minor procedure. Be good, okay?"

Sent.

On my end, three white bubbles popped up in the chat.

He lowered the phone and traded a look with Edwina in the passenger seat.

The two of them burst out laughing at the same time, not holding anything back.

Edwina fell against his shoulder, laughing. "Bertram, it's a real shame you didn't become an actor!"

Bertram raised an eyebrow, pleased with himself. "With a woman like her, a couple of lines is all it takes. In a bit I'll touch base with my mom so she doesn't slip up."

The car eased into a rest stop.

Once it came to a stop, Edwina unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I'm going to run to the restroom, and grab a milkshake while I'm at it. What do you want?"

"Anything's fine. Hurry back, baby."

After Edwina shut the door and walked off, Bertram rolled down the window and lit a cigarette.

He took a drag, fished out his phone, and called his mother.

"Hey, Mom, it's me. I've got Edwina with me, we're out."

Whatever his mother said on the other end, Bertram just laughed it off.

"Mom, don't worry. I've got it handled."

"Edwina? Sure, she's better than Winona, honestly. Sweet, cute. But what use is a girl fresh out of school? She's just my little something on the side, a bit of fun. You think I'd actually get serious about her?"

"It's only because work's been stressful, I need a little something to unwind."

His mother must have asked about me, because Bertram gave a cold snort.

"Winona? I'm freezing her out on purpose. Teaching her a lesson."

"You have no idea. Lately she's been getting more full of herself. She keeps making a fuss about wanting a bigger place, and every single day she's nagging me about having a baby."

"If I actually buy the house and give her a kid, I'm afraid she'll turn into all those other women, clinging to me for everything."

"Besides, I've got my eye on grabbing that case she's working."

"She's been going way too hard at the office lately. If she outranks me, and then stops listening to me, that's a headache."

"Honestly, I don't even want her getting pregnant. Better to get a doctor to play along and say she can't conceive. Then have Edwina carry one, and later we'll say we adopted it from an orphanage and let her raise it."

I almost laughed out of sheer fury.

He wanted me to be sharp at work, and to bow my head and do as he arranged.

And now he wanted me to raise his mistress's child?

His mother said something else, and Bertram laughed, smug.

"Alright, Mom, I'll let you go. Edwina's back."

The call ended.

Edwina pulled open the door and slid in, handing Bertram a strawberry milkshake.

"Bertram, I wanted the grape one and the strawberry one, so I just bought both."

He took it and, in the same motion, ran a hand up her thigh.

"Pick whichever you like, baby. I'll drink the one you don't."

I drew in a slow breath.

This car was part of what I brought into the marriage, and every device in it was linked to my phone.

Back when I still trusted Bertram, I never once checked.

Now, for the first time, I opened the app on my phone and quietly downloaded all the footage from the car's cameras.

From the moment they got in, every intimate touch, every shameless word, became the hardest evidence there could be in a courtroom.

Right before the car started up again, I knocked on the window.

"Open the door. I'm getting out."

Bertram froze. "Getting out? Now?"

I nodded. "Yes. Now."

Bertram exchanged a glance with Edwina, then leaned a suspicious head toward me.

"Ma'am, you sure? Even if you get out early, you're still charged for the full ride."

I watched him and pulled down my mask.

"Bertram. I said I'm getting out."